Migration to Norway - Flows and Regulations

Jessica Schultz is writing a thesis titled The Internal Protection Alternative (IPA) in International Law. This thesis seeks to answer the following question: under what conditions can a state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention refuse protection to someone on the basis that he or she can relocate within the country of origin? The IPA is one of the most important exceptions from the right to refugee status under Convention, especially in current asylum practice of European and Western states. Although there is consensus that an IPA is not ?safe? and thus that the exception does not apply if a real risk of persecution remains, state practice and academic commentary is conflicted about what more is required. This thesis aims to clarify the treaty basis for IPA practice and the relevant factors to consider under international law.

Fra prosjekt 207262/H20: The overarching research questions of this study are: what is the interrelation between migration flows and regulation? To what extent can the migration to Norway be explained as a function of the national migration regime, the emerging European regime an d the regimes in relevant neighbouring countries? What are the impacts of changing migration trends on the characteristics of the Norwegian migration regimes? The project consists of four interlinked modules: (1) a broad, interdisciplinary, empirical s tudy of the Norwegian regime and immigration flows within the European context. The module is divided into two interlinked parts. First, a qualitative study of the main changes in the Norwegian migration regime and those of Northern European countries in recent decades. Second, a quantitative study of the effect of regulations on migration flows to these countries. In this part, economists will undertake the main analysis. (2) an in-depth analysis of the direct and indirect relationship between internati onal law, EU-law and Norwegian immigration law and policies, especially in regard to presumed 'safe return' of asylum seekers with real protection claims. (3) a qualitative examination of asylum seekers? journeys to Norway. By interviewing Eritrean asylum seekers in transit we will investigate the dynamics of destination choices. What sort of decision process makes Norway the ultimate destination of asylum seekers? One key factor in answering this question is revealing when the decision is taken, and by whom. (4) a comparative, qualitative and quantitative, and in-depth study of the impact of regulation on family/marriage migration. A comparison of the marriage patterns of non-western immigrants in the presumably similar cases of Norway and Denmark offe rs opportunities to identify the effect of variation in the regulatory framework on marriage patterns and the associated migration flows.